NOWSHERA, Feb 26: Punjab police closed the Khairabad Bridge on Grand Trunk Road for four hours on Sunday to stop MMA workers from going to Lahore to join the Namoos-i-Mustafa rally.

They parked containers in the middle of the bridge to close the GT road from 7am to 11am on the directives of the Government of Punjab, officials said.

However, people managed to cross the Indus by boats at different places and reached Rawalpindi.

MMA workers said that the government was out to disturb peace by denying people their right to participate in peaceful rallies. They expressed concern over the arrest of Jamaat-i-Islami leader Ziaur Rehman Farooqi in Nowshera and his shifting to some undisclosed place.

Our Swabi Correspondent adds: Traffic was diverted to Ghazi-Topi and Swabi-Mardan roads on Sunday due to the blockade of the GT road near Attock.

The Topi-Ghazi road could not accommodate heavy traffic due to which there were traffic jams in various areas. In the congested Topi bazaar, it became impossible for the traffic to move forward. Pedestrians in different localities faced difficulties in crossing roads due to traffic jams.

Majority of motorists and drivers of public transport on the GT Road were not aware of side roads and remained stuck up in the traffic jam.—Correspondent